Thomdril Merrilin
| appeared= }} Thomdril Merrilin, commonly called Thom, is a gleeman, or bard. He is fairly old, has a gnarled face, shaggy white hair and blue eyes. He is tall, with stooped shoulders, his snowy hair and long mustaches make him appear older than he probably is, given his spryness. He is frequently seen smoking a pipe. Backstory Not much of his early life is known, although he was Bard to the young Lady Morgase of House Trakand. He helped her ascend to the throne of Andor and became her Court Bard, and was renowned in noble circles in most nations. He thwarted Taringail's plan to kill Morgase and killed him. He and Morgase became lovers. Somewhere during this time, Thom discovered his nephew, Owyn was being pursued by the Red Ajah for channeling, but he was too busy with his duties to Morgase to seek him out. The issue of Owyn returned later and he disappeared to help him. When he returned, Morgase was angry with him for leaving- a fight ensued, and Thom said she was a spoiled baby and tool of the White Tower. He left, barely dodging the execution block. Escape from the Two Rivers With his talents of Court Bard, he became a gleeman and journeyed across the land, performing in inns and villages. He just so happened to be in Emond's Field on the night when Trollocs attacked and Moiraine Damodred arrived. He went with Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara and Egwene al'Vere, fearing that they would succumb to the same fate Owyn had by following Moiraine, and felt he had to repay the failure he had made to his nephew. When the company was split up, he ended up on Bayle Domon's ship along with Rand and Mat. He seemingly sacrificed his life to protect them from a Myrddraal in Whitebridge, however he did not die, but the encounter did leave him with a permanent limp. Recent events Rand later caught up with Thom in Cairhien during The Great Hunt; soon after Thom's girlfriend/apprentice was murdered, her identity mistaken for Thom himself . Depressed, he left the city and made his way to Tar Valon, where he began drinking heavily. It was here that Mat found him after escaping from the White Tower in The Dragon Reborn. They rejoined the company in Tear after the Fall of the Stone. Thom, along with Juilin Sandar, was asked to take care of Nynaeve al'Meara and Elayne Trakand when they journeyed to Tanchico. They followed them on their quest until Ebou Dar, where Thom and Juilin stayed with Mat and helped him escape with Tuon. Thom is hot headed, but generally kind and considerate, and nurses a hatred of the Red Ajah, following their treatment of his nephew. A great player of Daes Dae'mar, Thom is able to sort out what is important among the information he gathers and which is just lies. He is supposedly attracted to and linked to saving Moiraine. It is revealed in Knife of Dreams that Thom knows of Moiraine's fate after her battle with Lanfear and that her rescue requires Mat's help. Most of this is made known to us in the letter that Thom received after the Blue Aes Sedai's 'death'. Category:Men Category:Entertainers Category:Knives